Disaster Artist: James Franco’s old high school removes his artwork

Photo by Justina Mintz/A24(LOS ANGELES) — Palo Alto High School, the alma mater of embattled Disaster Artist star James Franco, has painted over a mural Franco created as a tribute back in 2014.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the black-and-white mural was part of more than 20 pieces of art the class of 1996 grad had provided for the school. However, the 20 large paintings have been removed, and the last of two murals has just been deleted.

School officials had painted over one mural back in 2016, the trade notes, to make way for student contributions. That decision was made long before recent accusations of sexual impropriety from multiple women against the actor and artist.

In a Los Angeles Times story, five accused Franco of inappropriate or sexually exploitative behavior. Four were his acting students, while another claims he was her mentor.

Via his attorney, Franco has denied the women’s allegations.

Many in the industry suspect that the controversy cost Franco an Oscar nomination for The Disaster Artist, which he also directed, and for which he earned a Best Actor Golden Globe.

Palo Alto Unified School District Interim Superintendent Karen Hendricks issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, noting “The school site and district appreciated his donation, acknowledging that the artwork was intended to be temporary in nature and would be respectfully returned or painted over at some point.”

The statement continues, “Related to this, district staff recently considered the best interests of our students in the light of our educational mission, and decided to remove and return the remaining artwork.”

James Franco’s ARTS UP Tumblr page still boasts pictures of the murals, taken before they’d been painted over, as well as some of the other works he displayed at the school.